The Apple patent for the new MacBook has been published and has provided specific details about the innovation behind the laptop, which includes the addition of the Force Touch feature on the touchpad.
Apple's MacBook Pro is being marketed by the tech giant as a thin, lightweight and smart option for OSX users who want a device that is portable but also delivers great performance typically found on desktop computers.
In addition, the latest MacBook contains the Force Touch feature that is currently only being utilized for the laptop's touchpad, according to Forbes. The gadget actually contains four Force Touch sensors, even if even just one sensor is enough to produce the same, intended effect.
Despite this, a striking advantage of having at least one sensor located at each side of the MacBook's touchpad is that the detection of pressure becomes more accurate than when only a single Force Touch sensor is applied.
Since the Macbook supports multi-touch, Apple knows that the financial cost is outweighed by the efficiency produced by multiple Force Touch sensors. Despite this, the company could still lower the cost of the laptop by improving each individual sensor and decreasing the quantity eventually.
Additionally, the possibility of the Force Touch being used on every single key on the MacBook soon is not out of the question. Moreover, the fact that doing a long press opens an extra menu could mean that the Force Touch feature is being tested for other Apple devices.
In other news, it was discovered that the A9X chips being used for the iPad Pro are actually manufactured by TMSC, according to Ars Technica. Consequently, Apple has been outsourcing the production of the A9 chips to both TSMC and South Korean tech giant Samsung.
The A9x chip utilizes a GPU that employs a 12-core Imagination Technologies PowerVR Series 7XT design, which is unusual for Apple since the company typically has a 6-core A9 chip for mobile devices such as the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6S Plus.
Apple's iPad Pro was released on Nov. 11 and could be bought for as low as $799.